Tech Talk

Just a few weeks ahead of WWDC, it appears that Apple continues to secretly apply for trademarks related to its rumored AR/VR headset. Apple headset concept by designer Marcus Kane Delaware-based shell company "Deep Dive LLC" submitted a trademark application for "xrProOS" stylized in Apple's SF Pro font on May 18 in Argentina, Turkey, and the Phillippines, according to online records. The same company applied for an "xrOS" trademark in SF Pro in New Zealand earlier this month, and it is very likely that Apple is behind both filings as the company moves early to protect its headset-related intellectual property. Deep Dive LLC also applied for xrProOS in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK on May 18, but without SF Pro styling. The company first applied for the trademark in Jamaica on April 27, according to the records. Jamaica is often where Apple first applies for trademarks related to future products, as the country lacks a searchable online

French company Focal is known for its range of high fidelity audio systems, and it recently came out with its first set of wireless headphones with Active Noise Cancellation, the Bathys . The Focal Bathys are priced at $800, and while they are closest in functionality to Apple's $549 AirPods Max , they're more premium than anything Apple offers. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera has been testing out the Focal Bathys to see how they measure up to the ‌AirPods Max‌ and whether they’re worth the premium price. As a spoiler, these headphones have some of the best sounding wireless audio available, but the Active Noise Cancellation is a little disappointing at this price point. Make sure to watch Dan's video for a full overview of the design, functionality, battery life, and sound quality of the headphones. This article, " Video: Testing Focal's High-End $800 Bathys Over-Ear Headphones " first a

Men's Journal 's Jacob Krol was recently invited to tour the Apple Fitness+ studio in Santa Monica, California, providing another behind-the-scenes look at the subscription-based workout service. Krol had the opportunity to speak with Jay Blahnik, Apple's VP of Fitness Technologies, and met many of the trainers involved in the workouts. The first Fitness+ studio tours were shared last year, and this one provides some more details. Krol said the studio is one large room with equipment spread across several workout and meditation areas, and videos are recorded with 13 robotic cameras and a few human-operated cameras under a dense lighting grid. The live productions are monitored by a crew in a control room to ensure everything is being filmed correctly. Apple said Fitness+ now offers over 4,000 workouts and meditations, with new ones added every week. The videos range from 5 to 45 minutes in length, and there are a dozen workout types available, with the latest additio

This week saw a good mix of Apple news and rumors including the release of iOS 16.5 and related software updates, as well as the Beats Studio Buds + earphones and an early announcement of upcoming accessibility features from Apple. On the rumor front, we heard a bit more about what we should expect to see with the iPhone 15 lineup and the M3 family of Mac and iPad chips coming later this year, but the biggest focus of attention in the lead-up to WWDC in a few weeks is the Apple headset, so read on for all the details on these stories and more! Apple Releases iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5 With Sports Tab in Apple News, Bug Fixes and More After almost two months of beta testing, Apple this week released iOS 16.5 to the public, bringing some sports-related enhancements to Apple News, a new Pride Celebration wallpaper, and several bug fixes. It's a relatively minor update as iOS 16 work winds down ahead of the iOS 17 introduction at WWDC next month, but we'll be seeing at le

Apple over the last several months has been working on relocating its first-ever Apple Store in a Fairfax, Virginia shopping mall, and today is the grand opening of the revamped and relocated Tysons Corner store . Several influencers and ‌Apple Store‌ enthusiasts were invited to see Tysons Corner ahead of its opening, and were walked through the new store features. Michael Steeber shared detailed images of the experience, highlighting the Genius Bar, a hardware flex space, an Apple Watch Studio, and more. Apple has moved away from physical Genius Bar sections in its stores in recent years, but Tysons Corner has a dedicated Genius Bar in the right corner, similar to the original store. As Steeber points out, this is the first actual Genius Bar that Apple has installed in a store since 2015, though the concept of the Genius Bar never went away. There is a flexible hardware space at Tysons Corner, which Steeber says is designed to spotlight Apple's latest hardware. Apple ha

Apple's mixed-reality headset will cost the company around $1,500 per unit to manufacture, according to a series of reports coming out of Asia (via XRDailyNews ). Apple headset concept by David Lewis and Marcus Kane The first report from Minsheng Electronics , providing a detailed breakdown of the cost of each component in the headset, showing a total cost of $1,400. Including shipping, the conservative estimate for the bill of materials (BOM) is around $1,600. The device's most expensive components are the microOLED displays, which come in at $280 to $320. The next most costly parts are the headset's 14 camera modules, costing $160. The device's two chips , presumably referring to the main M-series SoC and a separate dedicated image signal processor, are believed to cost $120 to $140. Assembly is expected to cost $110 to $120. The firm also expects 400,000 to 500,000 headsets to be manufactured toward the end of 2023, with Apple running a 15-day preparation cycl

French fashion designer Hermès has launched a new leather case and lanyard for the second-generation AirPods Pro , continuing its work for Apple devices (via WatchGeneration ). The new Hermès ‌AirPods Pro‌ case comes in Gold and Bleu Navy, as well as several two-tone color options: Vert Criquet/Vert Bambou, Mauve Sylvestre/Rose Azalée, and Bleu Lin/Étain. The ‌AirPods Pro‌'s pairing button is indicated by a hot stamped Clou de Selle on the back of the case. The leather is also sufficiently thin to enable wireless charging. The Hermès ‌AirPods Pro‌ case comes with a long adjustable leather strap, allowing the case to be worn as a necklace, crossbody, or bag accessory. The case is available now for $930. The Hermès Lanyard for the second-generation ‌AirPods Pro‌ comes in Bambou, Gold, Bleu Navy, Rose Azalée, and Bleu Lin and features a circular Clou de Selle made of palladium brass. The lanyard is available now for $335. The accessories feature Hermès's "Swift&q

Apple's augmented reality glasses device is still at least four years away from launch, Bloomberg 's Mark Gurman reports . In an extensive report detailing some of the challenges involved in developing Apple's mixed-reality headset , Gurman explained that the company's separate AR glasses product has been mired by similar issues. AR glasses were the product that CEO Tim Cook and former design chief Jonny Ive originally wanted to build before technical limitations reduced expectations to the current "ski-goggle" headset form factor with video pass-through. Apple apparently realized early in the headset's development that the long-term goal of building AR glasses with sufficient power was unfeasible. Engineers calculated that the glasses would have to provide the full performance of an iPhone with only a tenth of its power consumption to prevent it from getting too hot. Mike Rockwell, a former Dolby executive hired to spearhead the development of ex

In a blow to Foxconn, Apple is expected to hand key iPhone 16 production responsibilities to Luxshare, significantly boosting the supply chain partner's profit growth over the next two years, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In his latest Medium blog post , Kuo said Apple has already given Luxshare new product introduction (NPI) approval for next year's iPhone 16 Pro Max, which is a significant win for the supplier, given that Foxconn has consistently won the highest-end iPhone assembly NPI in previous years. The approval followed Apple's decision to transfer some iPhone 14 Pro Max orders from Foxconn to Luxshare to diversify supply and mitigate risk, following the protests and riots that broke out in Foxconn's largest iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, China, in November 2022. Luxshare's production yield improvement schedule for the iPhone 14 Pro Max subsequently proved better than expected, leading Apple to award NPI to the company for the 2024 model. Th

Apple's 2023 M2 Mac mini is available at all-time low prices in both storage configurations today on Amazon. As of writing, only Amazon has these deals and you can get the Mac mini delivered as soon as May 19. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. Starting with the 256GB M2 Mac mini, you can get this model for $499.99 , down from $599.00. This is the best price we've ever tracked for this version of the computer, and it's the first time we've tracked this deal since early April. $99 OFF M2 Mac mini (256GB) for $499.99 Additionally, the 512GB M2 Mac mini has dropped to $689.99 , down from $799.00 on Amazon. This is another best-ever price for the new Mac mini, and delivery dates are available for as soon as May 19 as of writing. $109 OFF M2 Mac mini (512GB) for $689.99 Lastly, the 512GB M2 Pro Mac mini is also available at

Woot today has a collection of M1 iMacs at solid prices, starting with the 7-core GPU/256GB model for just $939.99 in Blue and Green, down from $1,299.00. This is a new all-time low price on this version of the 24-inch iMac, beating the previous low by about $60. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. All iMacs in Woot's sale today are in "New Open-Box" condition, meaning that the devices are brand new and come in original Apple retail boxes. However, they do not come with an Apple warranty and instead include a 90-Day Woot warranty. $359 OFF M1 iMac (7-Core GPU/256GB) for $939.99 You can also get the 8-core GPU/256GB M1 iMac for $1,029.99 on Woot, down from $1,499.00. This sale isn't quite as good as the $999.99 price tag we briefly saw on Amazon a few weeks ago, but at just about $30 higher it's a very solid

Apple is set to rearrange the layout of the rear triple-lens camera system on the iPhone 15 Pro Max to accommodate the new periscope camera technology that will be exclusive to the larger handset. iPhone 14 Pro camera layout. Arrows indicate swapped lens positions on iPhone 15 Pro Max. This year, a periscope lens system will be used for the telephoto camera in the iPhone 15 Pro Max for the first time, allowing for 5x or 6x optical zoom . Comparatively, the iPhone 14 Pro Max offers 3x optical zoom, which is expected to be retained for the smaller iPhone 15 Pro. Apple is likely limiting the periscope technology to the iPhone 15 Pro Max because of the internal space needed for the advanced hardware, but even with the available extra space in the Pro Max model, Apple has had to reorganize the formation of the camera module purely out of necessity. When the current iPhone 14 Pro Max is held in landscape orientation with the Side button at the top (as per the above image) the Teleph

Older Wemo smart plugs from Belkin have a vulnerability that allows them to be hacked, according to a blog post from security researchers at Sternum. The Wemo Mini Smart Plug V2 (model F7C063) from 2019 is vulnerable to a buffer overflow attack that can be used execute commands remotely. Basically, the Wemo Mini Smart Plug V2 has a 30 character name limit that can be overwritten, leading to an exploitable memory buffer error. Full details on how the exploit works are available from Sternum. Belkin told Sternum that it has no plans to update the Wemo Mini Smart Plug V2 because it is at the end of its life after four years and has been replaced with newer models. That leaves many potential Belkin customers vulnerable, as there are likely many of these smart plugs being used in the wild. Sternum recommends that people prevent the Wemo Mini Smart Plug V2 from accessing the internet and communicating with other devices like the iPhone because of the vulnerability, but the safest b

Apple today announced new concert discovery features for Apple Music and Apple Maps that will be rolling out around the world beginning today. Apple Music is getting a new Set Lists page that spotlights "a selection of major tours, letting fans listen to set lists and read about the productions." Apple Maps is gaining 40 new guides curated by Apple Music editors that "highlight the best venues to experience live music" around the world, with initial featured cities including Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York City, San Francisco, Berlin, London, Paris, Vienna, Tokyo, Melbourne, Sydney, and Mexico City. In both Apple Music and Apple Maps, users will now be able to browse upcoming performances directly in the apps via Shazam's concert discovery feature. Tags: Apple Maps , Apple Music This article, " Apple Music and Apple Maps Launching New Concert Features Today " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our fo

Photomator 3.0 today got its official release on macOS, bringing Pixelmator's iPhone and iPad photo-editing app to MacBooks and Mac desktops for the first time. With an interface that will be familiar to users of Photomator on iOS and iPadOS, the Mac app includes a fully fledged photo browser with native Photos app integration, allowing users to organize, duplicate, share, and favorite images, as well as sync edits between Photomator and the ‌Photos‌ Library. The app includes nondestructive tools to crop images, adjust colors, or repair and clone objects in photos, and users can edit specific parts of photos and make automatic subject, sky, and background selections. According to the developers, machine learning algorithms enable users to increase the resolution of photos without noticeable reductions in detail or sharpness, match the colors of two photos, and remove camera noise. Photomator for Mac also supports batch-editing workflows and includes a Workflows browser,

Apple's second-generation AR/VR headset will be offered in high-end and low-end versions and shipments are expected to be around ten times those of the first generation model, according to Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo . Concept render by Marcus Kane Multiple rumors have indicated that Apple's first AR/VR headset coming later this year will be priced somewhere around $3,000 and will be positioned as a device for developers, content creators, and professionals. Apple expects to sell just one headset per day per retail store, and the company has told suppliers that it expects sales of seven to 10 million units during the first year of availability. The expensive price point is due to the high-end hardware that Apple is using, but the company reportedly wants to make a future version more affordable by using less pricey components such as lower-resolution lenses. That could see Apple offer a two-tiered series of the second-generation device to appeal to a wider cust

A few Apple services are currently down, including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, and more. Apple has yet to update its System Status page to reflect any outages, but we will update this post as more information becomes available. Affected users received a "can't connect right now" error message when attempting to load or search for content across some Apple apps. Update: It appears the downtime was very short, as the affected Apple apps are functioning again for most users. Crisis averted. Tag: System Status This article, " App Store, Apple Music, and Some Other Apple Services Currently Down [Resolved] " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums Source: TechRadar

France has been investigating Apple since December after the organization Halte à l'Obsolescence Programmée (HOP) accused the company of "planned obsolescence" over serialized repair parts, according to French news agency AFP . Apple's self-service repair program requires customers to enter a device's serial number when ordering parts for devices like iPhones and Macs, and any parts ordered need to be paired with the same device after installation. HOP said this policy gives Apple the potential to restrict repairs to approved technicians only, and limit the functionality of devices repaired with uncertified parts. The organization added that Apple's self-service repair program is bad for the environment given that Apple ships large and heavy tools to customers. Do-it-yourself repair website iFixit also expressed disappointment about the serial number requirement when Apple's program launched last year. "Integrating a serial number check into

Apple's custom silicon is expected to leap to 3nm, a next-generation manufacturing technique, later this year, but what exactly does the enhanced process mean for the company's next-generation chips? Semiconductor fabrication is the process used to make chips. The "node" of the process is, in simple terms, a measure of the smallest possible dimension used in manufacturing, measured in nanometers (nm). The node of a chip helps to determine its transistor density, as well as its cost, performance, and efficiency. The link to actual physical dimensions has become hazy in recent years as advancements have slowed and marketing has become more important, but it still broadly denotes how advanced the chip technology is. What Nodes Does Apple Use Currently? Apple made the last big fabrication process jump in 2020, when it moved to TSMC's 5nm process with the A14 Bionic and the M1 chip. Some chips, such as the S6, S7, and S8 in the Apple Watch have continued to u

Recent reports have converged on the belief that Apple will show off its long-rumored AR/VR headset at WWDC in June, and now Ming-Chi Kuo's latest predictions also align with the rumors, with the industry analyst claiming that the announcement is "highly likely" and the company is "well prepared" for the unveiling. Concept render by Marcus Kane Previously, Kuo said Apple had pushed back production on the headset to the third quarter of 2023, and that as a result, the device might not be introduced at WWDC, but the analyst apparently no longer holds that view. In a brief report posted to Medium on Monday, Kuo wrote that the headset's announcement next month "bodes well" for the supply chain share price, with the analyst touching on five of the device's components that – apart from assembly – represent its "most expensive material costs" in his view. Those include the 4K micro-OLED displays, dual M2-based processors, the head